Not Sure What To Do With Myself

Now that the market is over, there are huge tracts of time that have opened up. We're talking weekends and weekdays that are now available to fun stuff like cut firewood and build a barn. Those two things alone are full time jobs, on the condition of course that I know what I am doing. Ignorance definitely holds you back.

I must say, by the time the market ended, we were pretty burned out and in need of a break. It's too early to say whether we'll do it again, but for now, I'm hoping to make the most of the time that is now available. That boils down to two things - barn and wood. There are assorted yard chores that need to be attended to, mainly mowing and raking, but now that fall is here, at least the grass is slowing down... finally. I was reading that raking the leaves, which for the record is the job I loathe the most, is not necessarily the best thing for your yard.

According to this article, while you don't want massive piles of leaves covering the grass, a layer is not bad if you just mow over it and turn it into smaller bits. It actually fertilizes the grass. This is probably wishful thinking for someone who really doesn't like raking, but I'm going to give it a try. Around the trees I'll rake the massive piles, but otherwise, I'm going to leave the stuff (no pun intended) and mow it into bits. Even just thinking about an easier solution to raking makes me feel better. We'll see how things look in the spring, after the snow has melted, especially since leaves take a long time to break down.

The wood pile has hit a lull, as can be expected. I am about 40% done with year 2, though I think (hope?) that I have cut enough blocks to finish it. It always takes more than you think. In terms of the barn, I can work inside pretty much all winter. I might need a space heater to survive, but my new goal is to get all the insulation in and prepare to drywall and do the floors. If I can accomplish all that by spring, we are in pretty good shape for the final stretch, I think. My Mentor can verify that, or remind me that I don't know what I'm talking about. It wouldn't be the first time.

As the saying goes, time is on my side, so I'd better make the most of it. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Pookie and Schnookie for the pic.